About Me

When not nosing, tasting, drinking and reading about malt whisky, I own one of Israel's premiere boutique coaching practices, specializing in small businesses and executive teams.
Trained in the law, I was an international law attorney and took part in Israel's peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as representing my country at the UN for parts of the negotiations on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Later I was appointed to the military bench.
My favorite thing, other than whisky, is teaching.
You can contact me through the social media buttons above or by email: michael(at)maltandoak.com, replacing the (at) with an @.

Statement of Integrity and Guidelines

Malt and Oak is an independent whisky blog, offering my own views, opinions and news from the world of malt whisky.
These are my guidelines:

1. All whisky reviews published are of whiskies I have personally tasted and noted. Guest bloggers only write about their own personal tastings.

2. With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.

3. I maintain strict impartiality and objectivity in tasting all whiskies, not least when tasting official samples. Any review of official whisky samples sent to me will be so noted in the post.

4. I will accept invitations to tastings, events and official visits, and full disclosure will be made on any tasting notes and articles resulting from these events or visits.

5. Any sample received over 30 ml in volume is shared with fellow whisky bloggers. In any event, no sample larger than 100 ml will be accepted.

6. No advertisements promoting specific brands will be accepted.

7. I will answer any inquiry by my readers as quickly and as fully as possible.

8. Should I give a link purchase the reviewed whisky, it will be given free of any commercial interest. The link given will always point to cheapest selling price I found on the web. No commission is paid, nor any other consideration given, for such link.

9. As of July 2017, I serve as Douglas Laing’s Israel brand ambassasdor. As such, I will obviously not be posting reviews of Douglas Laing products.

Posts Tagged “Japan”

La Maison du Whisky is France’s leading whisky retailer, and the purveyors of Whisky Live Paris, which is one of the Continent’s foremost whisky events of the year. Whisky Live Paris is usually held on the last weekend in September, one week before The Whisky Show in London. This whisky is linked also by another,…

Specialty Drinks is continuing to bottle single cask Karuizawa expressions, of which stocks are now down to below 50 casks, and The Whisky Show is the showcase for the new expressions each year. Last year it was the two Geisha labels (reviewed here) and the utterly stunning 1981 vintage, which I reviewed here, and sadly…

Within the Japanese whisky craze washing over the whisky world, Karuizawa has its own kind of crazy. Tulipmania in full bloom. Here are just two selections of the most recent Karuizawa craziness, off of recent auctions. The first is a bottle released by The Whisky Exchange this past October, one I have tasted and reviewed…

Yesterday I reviewed the Miygikyo 12 and found it just a little too put together. How does the 15 year old fare? Photo Credit: whiskymag.jp Yesterday’s blind tasting whisky was the Tobermory 10, which I had recently reviewed, so I’m sticking with notes from the London Whisky Show that I didn’t get to yet. Miyagikyo…

Israel’s whisky community is now in the midst of the first organized blind tasting organized by Tapuz Wine and Alcohol Forum’s Admin and resident whisky buff Assaf Harel in conjunction with Sitonaut Binyamina, who organizes next month’s Whisky Live Tel Aviv. We got 14 blind samples, and have one revealed each night at 11pm. The first…